I love this photo of my dear friend Larry McConkey at work, even if it makes him look like the Robocop of cinematographers. For anyone who isnt aware, Larry is the most brilliant Steadicam operator who has ever lived, pioneering incredible uses of it for directors like Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Jonathan Demme, Brian DePalma, Oliver Stone, and countless others. Nearly all of my own early films benefited from Larrys work as both director of photography and Steadicam operator, and with my Gil Scott-Heron portrait BLACK WAX in 1982, we made what I believe was the first feature-length film to use Steadicam from the first frame to the last. Check out Larry on IMDB to see how many of your favorite films, from GOODFELLAS to KILL BILL, he has worked on, right up through 12 YEARS A SLAVE. Back in the mid 1980s, he also helped Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown invent the Skycam. But Larrys specialty has always been helping to design and then implementing gorgeous moving shots lasting as long as five and even ten minutes within finished films. Back in grad school at Temple University, we dubbed Larry the human dolly, because of his amazing hand-held shots. But once fellow Philadelphian Garrett Brown introduced Larry to his newly invented Steadicam, Larry truly found his purpose in life. Genius comes in many forms, but theres no doubt that Larry McConkey qualifies as one, which is not meant to take away from all the other brilliant cameramen Ive worked with over the years, especially including Dave Sperling, Chris Li, David Insley, and Erich Roland.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Feb 2014 23:42:01 +0000